Gennady Golovkin: “I’m a little bit scared” of Sergiy Derevyanchenko

By Robert Adams: Gennady Golovkin and Sergiy Derevyanchenko met on Thursday at a news conference to discuss their October 5 fight on DAZN at Madison Square Garden in New York. After listening to the bold talk from Derevanchenko’s team, Golovkin revealed that he’s “scared” of the 2008 Olympian. The way that Derevyanchenko was smiling while GGG said this, it seems that he was just joking.

GGG vs. Derevyanchenko winner stays in the hunt for a Canelo fight

Golovkin (39-1-1, 35 KOs) does have something to fear in Derevyanchenko though, because if he loses to him, he can forget about a trilogy fight with Saul Canelo Alvarez. GGG’s record in his last four fights is 2-1-1, which is obviously not very good. Derevyanchenko has got Golovkin where he wants him, and he’s looking to beat him to win the vacant IBF title.

GGG admits to being afraid of Derevyanchenko

“I’m so excited because I’m going back to Madison Square Garden,” said Gennady Golovkin during Thursday’s news conference in New York. “Of course, I’m excited right now, because I understand the situation. Right now, I work with the best people in boxing. I have the best opponent. Sergiy Derevyanchenko, I know him from a long time ago. It’s a really very good fight. I understand my situation. This is not a game. This is a real fight. I’m a little bit scared, because he’s obviously right, his coach, and he’s obviously right too,” said Golovkin.

It’s not a good idea for Golovkin to be admitting that he’s afraid of Derevyanchenko, because now fans are seeing him as lacking courage.

Golovkin doesn’t say how he knows Derevyanchenko, but it’s possible the two ran into each other when they were in the amateur system in Eastern Europe. GGG has accomplished a lot more as a pro than Derevyanchenko, but that doesn’t mean he’ll win on October 5. Derevyanchenko is motivated, smart, and hungry. He needs this win more than Golovkin right now, and you can bet that he’s going to be fighting tooth and nail to accomplish that task.

Derevyanchenko has never fought anyone with the kind of talent and punching power that Golovkin has going for him. Last October, Daniel Jacobs beat Derevyanchenko by a 12 round split decision in a close fight. It was a fight that could have gone Derevyanchenko’s way, but he was dropped in round one. That started things on a bad note for Derevyanchenko, and he was never able to come back from that.

Golovkin explains why he’s scared of Derevyanchenko

“I know his team is a very strong team. Why I’m scared is because he looks good,” said Golovkin. “He looks strong. He feels this is his time right now; maybe, maybe. This is boxing. Nobody knows, guys. If you want to watch a real show, a real fight, please come to Madison Square Garden or live on DAZN. Thank you to the people that support boxing, and support me and my promoters,” said Golovkin at the news conference.

Derevyanchenko has looked solid recently in his fights with Jack Culcay, Jacobs, Tureano Johnson and Dashon Johnson. He beat Culcay last April to earn the IBF mandatory position in Minneapolis, and it was a great performance. Derevyanchenko was supposed to fight Canelo Alvarez for the IBF title, but he missed the deadline to get the fight negotiated. Canelo’s promoters spent too much time trying to negotiate a deal with WBO light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev. They couldn’t get that fight made, and that wasn’t enough time to put together the fight with Derevyanchenko.